Spring fling?

Ever notice how baseball players cover their mouths whenever they have a conference on the mound? Gotta watch out for us lip-readers!

On a recent hike I came upon these turtles sunning on a log. Pretty typical of them. This one is a Red-eared Slider, I do believe. Notice the shell appears to have some damage. There are no motor-boats in this pond, so I dunno what's up with that.

Red-eared Slider

nearest turtle is quite large, perhaps 14 inches

Meanwhile, at the port, activities are returning:

Volleyball on the north coast, April 29th

Street strummin'... guitar hero...

Priceless:

An Elementary School Teacher had twenty-six students in her class. She presented each child in her classroom the 1st half of a well-known proverb and asked them to come up with the remainder of the proverb. It's hard to believe these were actually done by first graders. Their insight may surprise you. While reading, keep in mind that these are first-graders, 6-year-olds, because the last one is a classic!



1.    Don't change horses... until they stop running.
2.    Strike while the...  bug is close.
3.    It's always darkest before... Daylight Saving Time.
4.    Never underestimate the power of... termites.
5.    You can lead a horse to water but... how?
6.    Don't bite the hand that... looks dirty.
7.    No news is... impossible.
8.    A miss is as good as a... Mr.
9.    You can't teach an old dog new... math.
10.    If you lie down with dogs, you'll... stink in the morning.
11.    Love all, trust... me.
12.    The pen is mightier than the... pigs.
13.    An idle mind is... the best way to relax.
14.    Where there's smoke there's... pollution.
15.    Happy the bride who... gets all the presents.
16.    A penny saved is... not much.
17.    Two's company, three's... the Musketeers.
18.    Don't put off till tomorrow what... you put on to go to bed.
19.    Laugh and the whole world laughs with you, cry and... you have to blow
your nose.
20.    There are none so blind as... Stevie Wonder.
21.    Children should be seen and not... spanked or grounded.
22.    If at first you don't succeed... get new batteries.
23.    You get out of something only what you... see in the picture on the box.
24.    When the blind lead the blind... get out of the way.
25.    A bird in the hand... is going to poop on you.

    And the WINNER and last one!       
26.    Better late than...   pregnant.

Winter Carny...

 The snowstorm came just in time for the polar bear plunge. Followed by a nice sunny day, 28F. The plunge is for charity and takes place up at the port. (click photo to enlarge or open in new tab)

When they aren't making Super Bowl commercials...

Hey, its a spectator sport!

Snow dunes

The storm piled up ice chunks on the pier. I couldn't go out any farther, not without breaking an ankle or worse. See previous post for comparison.

In my backyard.

Snow Trek

Saturday after getting my haircut, I ventured out onto the pier . At the barber shop I removed my hearing-aids and stuffed them into my pocket. I forgot to put them back on after the haircut. It wasn't until I was out on the pier when I realized I was 'roughing it.' No problem, they were still in my pocket.

But so were my car-keys.

After the trek I unlocked the car and got seated, then emptied my pocket and found only one hearing-aid. Did I say 'panic'??? I looked around, under, and behind the seat, no bi-cros aid! Next I checked the ground all around the vehicle figuring it had fallen out when I removed the car-keys from my pocket. Tiny little thing, too! Nothing!

I was in 'surrender' mode. 1000 dollars for that aid! And finally, I looked in that small plastic pocket attached to the inside of the door. There it was, all the way to the bottom. Whoosh!!!


 The trek, it's about a half-mile out (click photo to enlarge):

The start, about 4 inches of snow.

Don't see many Loons here, except for the human ones.

Still a ways to go. Really cold. I can see a storm blowing in from the west.

Long-tail duck. Visitors from Canada. They flock here every winter. Very people shy.

Almost there. Wind blown icicles. It's slippery, icy underneath the snow.

End of pier. No mans land.

screams

SCREAMS

cruel affliction, profound hole

darkness moans, alone the soul

silent loudness, quiet blast

lurks the Demon, shadow cast

anvil, hammer, trumpets blare

chain reaction, trembling air

trilling whistles, pounding drums

cranked up volume, rendered mum

a deaf soul seeks no misery

it finds him through anxiety

from sight not sound, reactions come

frustrations tame him, thoughts go numb

twisted tension, rising tide

isolation, boxed inside

crushed emotions, self-esteem

deafened silence....Demon screams

Have we all gone crazy?

The shooting scene of the Webster firemen is a short 3 minute drive from my home. I've read of the deaths, seen the destruction, and smelled the charred homes.

I am particularly moved by the death of the 19 year-old, Tomasz. He was a volunteer fireman. Not only was he a first-responder, but he volunteered for duty that night so veteran firefighters could be home with their families over the Christmas holiday.

He didn't have to be there!

He had been a past member of an Explorer Post specializing as a first-responder. These young men and women enter the field with much enthusiasm.

It is sad to see such a promising life, and dedicated citizen, gunned down.

The nra wants armed guards in every school, and I imagine in every mall, shopping plaza, theater, bus, firetruck and so on...

Yeah, let the nra pay for it through hefty membership fees renewed annually. Also, let's require each and every firearm to be registered annually for a fee. 

Of course, the powerful nra lobby will oppose such changes. Perhaps, they would have us follow the Cold War example, mutually assured destruction? Donate a gun, ammo, and armored vest to every newborn?

Society has changed.

And so must the laws. 

Oops....

...been awhile since I last posted.

I've gone back to the audiologist twice for adjustments to my new bi-cross hearing-aids. There has been a clicking noise, probably caused from the aid rapidly adjusting to different frequencies. It's all techno-mumble-jumble for me.  Anyhow, that annoyance has been reduced.

Also, the beeps which tell me the cross-aid is on or off, I had them shut this off... too bothersome. And the low-battery warning beep for the cross-aid is still active... a good feature.

All-in-all, I would rate this bicros phonack a B+. If it had separate volume controls on both aids, I would have rated it higher.

A few pics from Thanksgivings weekend, followed by a joke:

Town along the ErieCanal. (open in a new tab for best view)

Roots of the Adirondack Mtns.

Atop the island.

Dangerous drop

Among oldest rocks known in geological history.

Canal lock

ahh... a little sicko, this one, but here goes... today's joke:

Depressed 
 
Over five thousand years ago, Moses said to the children of Israel , 
 
"Pick up your shovels, mount your asses and camels, and I will lead 
 
you to the Promised Land." 
 
 
 
Nearly 75 years ago, (when Welfare was introduced) Roosevelt said, 
 
"Lay down your shovels, sit on your asses, and light up a Camel, this 
 
is the Promised Land." 
 
 
Today, Congress has stolen your shovel, taxed your asses, raised the 
 
price of Camels and mortgaged the Promised Land! 
 
I was so depressed last night thinking about Health Care Plans, the 
 
economy, the wars, lost jobs, savings, Social Security, retirement 
 
funds, etc .... I called a Suicide Hotline.  I had to press 1 for English. 
 
I was connected to a call center in Pakistan . I told them I was suicidal. 
 
They got excited and asked if I could drive a truck...... 

Folks, we're screwed! 

Lil' Surge

Not too bad here, but the ground is saturated, with more rain to come.

Photos of Lake Ontario, the waves were said to be about 8 feet high. Taken around 5:30PM Monday, at approximately 400 miles from the Jersey coast, while the superstorm's center was still at sea.

Looking east. Boy adds some perspective.

Panning north-east

Head winds from the north

Looking west. The light is the end of half-mile long pier, which comes from the left.